Daily Archives: December 2, 2011

Few signs of ‘illness’ in Norway terrorist’s manifesto

Last July, Anders Breivik murdered 77 people, mostly teenagers, in the worst mass killing in Norwegian history. Today his country is abuzz with a debate over whether, of all things, he should be considered a criminal, or just mentally ill.

This is a man who planned his atrocity for months; wrote a voluminous, exhaustively researched account of his motives and methods in English, not his first language; and executed his plan with military precision and, according to eyewitnesses, no hint of mercy or hesitation.

Half a century ago, arguably, Breivik would have been tried, found guilty and hung, as the Nazis convicted at Nuremberg were hung. For that is precisely what he is: A latter-day Adolf Hitler in the germinal stage, who put his coldly evil plans into place in hopes of catalyzing a fascist revolution and seizing power.

That Breivik was wildly delusional about the level of “support” he’d receive from his countrymen and other Europeans – even fellow right-wing zealots – doesn’t make him mentally ill. It just makes him a self-infatuated megalomaniac. But wasn’t Hitler that as well? And Josef Stalin? What about Pol Pot? Or, for that matter, Ivan the Terrible, Genghis Khan or Caligula?

In the first hours after Breivik’s bombing and mass shootings, many suspected they were the work of Islamist terrorists. This was no coincidence: In his manifesto, Breivik expresses admiration for Al Qaeda’s tactics, as well as their ruthlessness.

In fact he seems sad that “crusaders” for Western racial and religious purity lack the terrorist flair of the Islamists: His goal is to change all that. It is always clear, in his writing, that he wishes for Al Qaeda to have a mirrored twin – his new “Knights Templar” – who will carry out barbaric acts in the service of Europe and Christianity, just as (he believes) Al Qaeda zealots carry them out in the service of Islam.

Breivik drones on at length about his theory that Europeans can be culturally Christian, in the same way that secular Jews consider themselves Jewish by ancestry and culture. He considers himself one of these “cultural” Christians, and anoints himself a holy warrior in defence of European culture and faith.

Nowhere, in any of this, is there any hint that Breivik is anything other than a sociopath with delusions of grandeur. The manifesto is packed with fetishistic detail about paramilitary tactics and gear, as well as urban revolutionary bomb making and communications. Breivik goes into stupefying detail about the logistics of his plan, his financing methods, his choice of weapons and explosives, and the like.

In places it reads like a piece of juvenilia, and his incipient insecurity and callowness are revealed. But for the most part, it is not dissimilar in tone from many parts Hitler’s Mein Kampf. Cold, clinical, detached, and ruthlessly “logical” in pursuit of insane aims.

Christian apologists rushed to the battlements in July to insist that Breivik was no Christian terrorist. That’s nonsense. He is precisely that – a murderous Christian theo-fascist, modeled on the murderous Islamist theo-fascists who, until he came along, had cornered the latter-day market on barbarism.

Just as Islamist terrorist have over the years – on 9/11, in Madrid, in London, in Bali, in Mumbai – proven themselves to be occasionally capable of highly efficient planning and execution, so has Breivik.

In that sense, he cannot be clinically insane or even ill, can he? Illness usually denotes an impairment of function. Far from being dysfunctional, Breivik proved himself to be intelligent, determined, motivated, highly functional, and a sociopath without conscience – the most dangerous kind of human alive.

Given all this, why would the Norwegian justice system even being to allow this man to be declared mentally ill, as opposed to a criminal mass murderer?

Perhaps it’s easier for Norwegians to think of him as an aberration, as opposed to the most extreme representative of a regressive strain of xenophobia that holds growing sway in Europe. Radical Islam will breeds radical counters, and vice versa. It’s a miracle, in fact, that a Breivik hasn’t appeared before now. Economic downturns on the continent will not make the situation better.

The upshot for us in Canada is this, it seems to me: Every government policy at every level should be set against this measure: Does it treat people equally regardless of race, religion, age, gender, and orientation? Is it strictly egalitarian, or does it favour one identifiable tribe over another? Does it bring people together or pull them apart?

We have a society here still relatively free of sectarian division and ethnic strain. We should work harder to keep it that way.

Likely to be the final music released from the Amy Winehouse vaults, Lioness: Hidden Treasures hits stores on Monday.
A couple of tracks have surfaced before the release, the latest being “Halftime” produced by Winehouse’s long-time collaborator Salaam Remi.

Lana Del Rey caused a bit of kefuffle in Toronto earlier this week when she performed her first concert in the city. The much-buzzed about “Video Games” singer has just dropped the audi for a new single entitled “Born to Die,” the title track from her upcoming album due to be released in January.

Trent Reznor, who won a Grammy for his soundtrack for The Social Network, is back with another soundtrack this time from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Apparently the whole thing is over three hours long. Download a six song sampler of the music here.

And last, but certainly not least. El Camino, by blues-infused rock duo The Black Keys is another high-profile December 6 release. Listen to five songs on their website here.

Public sector union launches social media campaign against federal cuts — with video

OTTAWA — Public-sector unions are fighting back against the Conservative government’s multibillion-dollar spending review with a new social-media campaign that claims it’s absurd to have Canadians choose between strong public services and eliminating the deficit.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada’s new ‘Third Choice’ online campaign — launched Friday on Facebook — features a video of a giant squirrel ransacking a federal government office, and urges Canadians to fight back against the cuts.

The union is hoping to engage the public and have citizens voice their concerns to the Harper government about public-sector job cuts.

The social-media push comes as Treasury Board president Tony Clement lashes out at unions for not helping the government find savings and while some labour groups fear tens of thousands of federal jobs could be axed as part of the ongoing operating review.

The PSAC video (linked below) features a young woman standing at what’s ostensibly a Service Canada counter with a baby in her arms submitting a form for parental benefits.

Suddenly, a giant squirrel emerges and hands the young woman a card that reads: “Would you like to have no deficit in Canada?,” before the critter begins to ransack the office.

“Would you rather have strong public services or have no deficit,” says the voice over. “Right now, you’re being made to choose. An absurd choice is no choice for Canadians.”

The online offensive comes a day after Clement attacked PSAC for doing nothing to help the federal government find low-hanging fruit to cut in its ongoing operating review — which is searching for $1 billion in cuts for next fiscal year, $2 billion for 2013-14, and $4 billion by 2014-15.

Nearly 70 government departments and agencies are required to submit scenarios for a five-per-cent and 10-per-cent cut to their budgets.

The Tory government is expected to announce the first of the cuts in the spring budget, and is relying on the savings to help it eliminate a $31-billion deficit by 2015-16 at the earliest, a year later than initially promised.

The search for savings comes as documents obtained by Postmedia News show the federal public service has swollen by 34 per cent over the past decade — three times the growth in the population.

Unions are now bracing for potentially thousands of layoffs and are urging Clement to tread carefully in his search for billions in savings.

“We know that there are going to be job reductions. I think they’re going to be in the executive level as well,” said Gary Corbett, CEO of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada.

“It’s in the thousands — maybe even tens of thousands,” added Corbett, whose group represents approximately 58,000 scientists and other professionals employed mostly at the federal level.

Clement continued to trade barbs Thursday with PSAC and unions in general.

In a letter to Clement, PSAC had asked the minister to “put an end to the secrecy surrounding decisions being made about cuts to public services and jobs.” The union insists Canadians and public servants are being shut out of the decision-making process.

Clement responded in a letter to PSAC president John Gordon: “I have not received a single constructive recommendation” from the union on how to make the federal government more efficient.

Under fire from the NDP in question period Thursday, the minister said the government is focused on making sure it spends within its means.

“It is clear that union bosses do not have the same agenda and they are joined at the hip with the NDP Opposition,” Clement said in the House of Commons.

Secret out on new Royal ships?

The cruise industry doesn’t like leaks, and not just because it’s all about boats and water. I’m talking about news leaks…

Royal Caribbean has been keeping under wraps the details on new ships dubbed Sunshine Class. They are being built at Meyer Werft in Germany for the Royal brand, and all we know is that they will carry 4,200 passengers and that an order has been placed for one with an option for two.

But is that right?

A subcontractor who is probably now in the process of getting his hands slapped announced happily that he has orders for equipment for two and an option for two more. I thought they signed a confidentially clause on these things.

Koja, the company that supplies air conditioning systems for the ship, spilled the beans.

The Finland-based company’s statement then said the ships would be built for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and be more than 350 metres in length and accommodate 4,200 passengers each. The contract with Meyer Werft would provide work for Koja until 2015 and if the options are included, until 2017, the company noted.

Koja…I hope your contract is iron-clad.

All for now.

For another reason you might be interested in Disney cruise, click here to read what my colleagues at Cruising Done Right have to say in today’s blog.

Sources say Toronto is trying to be as aggressive as it can be in the big-man market in free agency and has informed the players involved that it intends to lodge serious bids for Nene, Chandler and restricted free agent Marc Gasol. In the unlikely event that releasing a player through amnesty could clinch the signing of one of those players, rest assured that the Raptors will go for it.

Nene, like Tyson Chandler, is coming off his best season to date. After struggling with injuries throughout his career, the Brazilian center finally appears to be healthy after missing only 12 games over the last three seasons. The chances of the Raptors signing him are pretty slim, as Nene prefers winning over money.

Marc Gasol’s production has taken a step back last season but he still commands significant interest from around the league. Grizzlies’ owner Michael Heisley has indicated that he will match all offers for the Spanish center, so it is hard to see him being let go as he is onlyasking for $9 million per year.

FOX 26 Sports is also reporting that the Raptors have interest in signing free agent Chuck Hayes.

“The teams that are involved with Chuck Hayes are the Portland Trailblazers, the Toronto Raptors, the Houston Rockets, the Sacramento Kings and the Minnesota Timberwolves,” said Calvin Andrews, agent of Chuck Hayes.

If this shortened offseason goes well for the Raptors, the team will have their first center since the one-legged Jermaine O’Neal. Colangelo will finally get to see how his pet project, Andrea Bargnani, performs beside a rebounding and defensive center.